Tag Archives: CELBANPrep Writing Level One

The Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses is different from the IELTS because the topics for the CELBAN are familiar: about nursing or your personal experiences. For this reason the topics chosen for CELBANPrep Writing Level One assignments are about nursing, personal experiences or something else that is a familiar topic to the writer. During CELBANPrep Writing Level One, IENs work with a writing coach/tutor who provides individualized feedback on how each IEN can turn his or her weaknesses into strengths. This process continues for CELBANPrep Writing Level Two, where assignments are in a nursing context: assessment and incident reports.

I was so pleased, and surprised when one of my IENs wrote about incident reports as her topic for an assignment for CELBANPrep Writing Level One. She did such an excellent job I immediately knew I wanted to post it, so that I could share it with you!

Hi! I’m a PR here in Canada for 1 year now and i am currently working as care manager. I’m a RN in the Philippines and I am planning to take my Celban test this year. How long will a have to review with your help to pass my first attempt in Celban? Thank you!

I’ve been reading your “Dear Kim” blog less than a year. I’ve contemplating to do my bridging program for RN in [province]. I procrastinated though, due to my fear of not passing the IELTS.

[My city] is such a nice place, it’s growing so fast. Sometimes, I like it. Sometimes, I don’t. I came here to Canada 5 years ago as an LPN from the Philippines. I used to be an RN back home. I am currently working in a busy floor, it’s a combination of Labour and Delivery, Postpartum Unit and Gastrointestinal Surgery. Once in a while we also get the not so very young. I have a permanent resident status and just recently submitted my citizenship application.

I love what I do, I know that I was born to be a nurse. Lately, our LPN scope of practice in Alberta has expanded. There are only 3 things an LPN in our unit can’t do. Be an Obstetrical Nurse, spike a blood bag and be a charge nurse. Other that than, LPNs do everything. However, we get paid less. Less than $20/hour. I want to be honest with you, I want more. I want to get paid more on how good I am. Does this make me a less nurse? I hope not.

I have a long history with IELTS. Back in 2007, I started taking up the test in Manila for my New Zealand application. They were requiring a band score of 7 on each modules. I took the test 9 times! You know why? Because my writing was always a band score of 6.5. So, I gave up.

Last July of 2014, I took the plunged again. I sat for IELTS exam. Even though, at the back of my mind, I should’ve taken CELBAN. My test score was L: 8.5 R: 7.5 W: 6.5 S: 7.5 Overall Band Score: 7.5. I was broken-hearted. I was 0.5 away, again.

I speak English everyday at work. I am well-read. I follow CNN newsfeed on social media and loves watching documentaries. I love travelling. I can speak with confidence and smitten anyone with my charming genuine smile, but I suck on writing.

After checking the CELBAN site that test dates and locations will be posted soon, I decided to seek your help. I promised to work hard. I borrowed all the IELTS materials I could borrow from our public library. But, I have nightmares on writing. So, could you please help me prepare for the test? I need your guidance.

As you may have known me, I’m K, from Philippines….I have been following your blog for quite some time now. … I’d like to let you know a bit of myself. I’m a BSN graduate of 2012, and currently a registered nurse. I worked in a tertiary hospital here for only 14 months (Jan.2013-Feb 2014). Since then, I stopped practicing my profession because I’m actually looking for a greener pasture. Otherwise, I wouldn’t flourish knowing that wages here are very, very low and can’t compensate for your wants, needs, and assistance to your very own loved ones. Based on this, maybe you will have an idea that I’m a man with big dreams, and eagerly relentless on pursuing them. =)

…

I believe in the saying that, “success starts with IELTS.” However unfortunately, I already took the IELTS twice (April and July this year), but never found the luck especially in my Writing. Taking the exam twice in a row, I always got 6.0 bandscore in my Writing while the rest of the components L, R and S were okay. My writing sucks, isn’t it? I usually practiced my writing part before like 2x a week. But I admit I almost gave up knowing that I’ve had the same mistakes and no matter how hard I tried to improve my writing skills, I fairly didn’t have the chance of getting 7 especially during my practices. In my mind I believe that writing skill takes a talent, which I obviously don’t have. I’d like to think that I didn’t get a score of 7 because of the technicality of the IELTS writing topics and the topics themselves are difficult to be explained explicitly, to the point that I ran out of ideas, or no ideas to be input at all 😦

However, sooner, I will be reviewing and sitting for the CELBAN may be early next year if everything goes well. Right now, I have this ambivalent feeling, again. To be honest, I really don’t have any ideas right now what CELBAN is all about except its meaning, Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses. I have with me again this feeling of fear, completely mixed emotions because I don’t know how difficult the CELBAN exam is, or if I can make it with just one take. Although a lot of IENs from the agency where I have applied as student visa for Canada took and passed the exam with just one sit, still I’ve lessened down my expectations to make it….How do I improve IELTS or CELBAN writing? Ielts writing topics are getting more difficult than the ones established few years ago. I do also have this question: Has the new CELBAN test administrator expanded the test dates and locations across Canada? I saw before that test dates and sites in Canada are full up to December. I’m a bit wary too if this will ever happen again come 2015. =(

Good afternoon Kim, My name is R, I am one of your student in dear kim. I would like to thank you for all your guidance and support in my writing. Though, I felt so bad whenever I check my writing there were lots colours for corrections- but for this corrections I improved and felt confident in doing an incident report. Honestly, I took IELTS exam 3 times, unfortunately I didn’t meet the score that they were requiring me to reach. Then I took Celban, first attempt I failed. Somehow, you gave me a chance to open my account in your website and from that point I practice and practice until I got the confidence to overcome my fear of writing. Luckily, I got a schedule last Sept…,2013 for CELBAN exam … and I pass the exam. Kim, you put a mark in achieving my nursing career here in Canada. Thank you, R

What’s the use of these all sales because people didn’t get their celban dates from 5-6 months so much waiting to get the exam date then no use of this celban . It’s not good in my view , i m so much upset about the system of this celban exam dates till August it’s full I want to give exam now but how? M